Clotilde Dusoulier : I was born in Paris, and it's where I grew up and went to university, studying software engineering. I worked for two years in California after graduation, then moved back to Paris, and this is where I've lived since then -- in the Montmartre area, to be more specific.

LZ : Who taught you to cook—to really, really cook ?

CD : My mother is a very good cook, so I hung out in the kitchen with her a lot when I was growing up, but apart from a little help here and there, and some baking, I didn't cook very much as a kid and a teenager. I really started to get interested in it when I lived in California, and I've mostly taught myself through books, magazines, and blogs, and by talking about food and cooking with every one who'll indulge me.

CD : As far back as I can remember, I've always written and wanted to write. As a kid, I was always starting (though rarely finishing) short stories and science fiction novels, my sister and I would publish our own newspaper, that sort of thing. And when I started my food blog in 2003, I found that food was a topic that inspired me endlessly.

LZ : A decade ago, blogs were just starting. Can you imagine what your path might have been without this technology ?

CD : I am, without a doubt, one of the many people on the planet whose lives have been completely changed by the existence of the Internet and the advent of the blog. It's impossible to say what my path would have been otherwise, but my passion for food is so strong that I would likely have found some other way to bring it closer to the center of my life.

LZ : Chocolate and Zucchini has existed since 2003, and you post regularly in both French and English. What keeps it fresh ?

CD : The blog is really my sandbox: it's the comfortable place where I can write about exactly what I want, and it's where I share the things that excite me the most. I love the instantaneity of it, and the conversations that it fosters with my readers.

LZ : Are there special challenges to writing a bilingual blog ?

CD : The biggest challenge is time: it's not quite twice more work to write the same post in two languages, but it does mean that each post requires significantly more of my attention than if I were only publishing it in one language. But I love being able to connect with readers both in French and in English. And because passion #2 for me is studying languages, I find it fascinating to consider the differences of tone and expression between the two versions of the blog, and the different rapport each builds with the readers.

LZ : Do you have an food prejudices ? Things you just won’t—or absolutely must—eat ?

CD : However hard I try, I cannot get over my childhood aversion to cooked spinach.

LZ : Have you ever dreamed of growing your own food ?

CD : It is one of my ambitions in life, to have a vegetable garden and a couple of fruit trees. I know it's a lot of work, but I think it would make me immensely happy. In the meantime, I grow as much as I can on my windowsills -- herbs and strawberries, mostly.

LZ : Given your large readership, do you feel that you have a responsibility to address—or to avoid—certain isssues ?

CD : I do think about the food blogger's responsibility, and it's important that what I write be in line with the issues I care about -- environmental and ethical ones mostly. I want to encourage my readers to cook with fresh, seasonal, local foods, to rely less on animal products, to become informed about how their ingredients are produced, and to think about reducing, reusing and recycling. Aside from a few posts dealing specifically with that kind of topic (such as sustainable seafood, reusable shopping bags or tips for a green kitchen) I make sure that these values seep through my writing and my recipes.

LZ : Do you have to be a great cook to be a great food writer?

CD : I think it helps to be at least an adequate cook, or to be in the process of learning to become one. Some restaurant critics claim that you don't need to know how to cook to judge a chef's cuisine, but I would argue that it gives your writing more credibility if you understand first-hand what it takes to select good ingredients and to work with them to make a good dish.

LZ : What advice would you give to a young writer—especially a food writer?

CD : Work on finding and developing your own voice. Do read and study the work of writers you admire, but don't worry about what others are doing. Follow your own appetite and write from your own perspective: it's the only way readers will relate to you.

LZ : Are their special foods you eat (or avoid) to stay in top form for writing?

CD : I don't really have a writing-specific diet, but I do know that I can't have sweet things at breakfast (apart from fruit) otherwise I get the shakes two hours later and I am miserable all morning.

LZ : You recently organized a diner tout légume. How did that come about ?

CD : It's the conjunction of two things: there's a vegetarian restaurant in Paris I love, called Bob's Kitchen, where I had the opportunity to work for a few weeks in the spring. And then there's my friend Braden Perkins, an American chef and co-founder of the Paris underground restaurant Hidden Kitchen. Bob's Kitchen is normally closed at dinnertime, but the owners were looking for ways to use the space in the evening, so Braden and I offered to host all-vegetable, 10-course tasting dinners. The events went really well and our guests were very happy, so we'll likely do more in the fall.

LZ : You are so young –and you’ve already published several acclaimed and very popular books in both English and French. What next ?

CD : I am working on a new cookbook! The manuscript is due in early 2012 and it will be released in the US in the spring of 2013.

Clotilde Dusoulieris the author ofChocolate & Zucchini,Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris, and an editor of I Know How to Cook. She launched her bilingual food blog, Chocolate & Zucchini, in 2003. It has repeatedly been named one of the best food blogs in the world, most recently by The Daily Meal, Delish, The Times, and New Statesman. You can follow Clotilde on Twitter @clotildenet